The power is intermittent around the mall, and traffic lights are out on Dowlen Road, he said.

Traffic on Dowlen Road is heavy and slow. Entrances and exits from the Parkdale Mall are blocked off.

Entergy Corp.'s Web site reports eight customers without power at 4:10 p.m. During the twister, several feeder lines to the area tripped, but reset within 90 seconds or so, Entergy officials said.

3:54 p.m. Christus St. Elizabeth spokeswoman Jacqueline Conger said the hospital has treated 10 people for lacerations and abrasions from debris caused by the tornado. All are in stable condition, Conger said.

3:38 Wal-Mart sales associate Sophia Lindsey was in the cell phone section of the store when customers began to run by her toward the back of the store yelling tornado.

As Lindsey ran to the back, the roof began to collapse near the garden center of the store.

The lights then went out and customers and employees packed into the break room and the restroom at the rear of the store, she said.

They waited for about 20 minutes before they emerged.

When the lights came back on, the store appeared flooded, Lindsey said. Water was flowing from the fire and lube center toward the other end of the store, she said.

Lindsey, 34, of Beaumont, said it was a horrifying experience.

"Honestly, I'm still kind of shaken up. I'm going to probably stay up all night," she said.

Across the street at Lowe's, not a shopping cart was out of place.

3:21 p.m.: Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital reports they've taken in less than ten patients and all are in stable condition. They could not characterize the injuries.

3:19 p.m. The storm introduced two six-month pregnant women to each other.

Jennifer Higgin, 30, of Beaumont, was sitting in her white Grand Marquis in the Wal-mart parking lot when she noticed the rain and wind increase.

She then saw a pickup truck lift off from the parking lot, fly over her car break out the back window of her car and land an aisle away.

Higgin, who is six months pregnant, was unharmed but plans to see a doctor.

A helicopter is surveying the scene.

Stephanie Culpepper, of Beaumont, was checking out at Wal-Mart several aisles down from the exit doors, when she heard people screaming about a tornado and lights began to flicker.

She said suddenly a huge gush of wind blew shopping carts into the doors.

She tried to call people, as did others in the store, but found the services inoperable.

Culpepper said store personnel did not seem to know what to do with their customers in the emergency.

Culpepper, who also is six months pregnant, said her F-150 truck was relatively undamaged, though it was pushed into Higgin's vehicle.

Wal-Mart's parking lot is clear.

3:01 p.m.: The tornado collapsed the roof at Kohl's trapping several people in dressing rooms. At least three were taken out by stretcher.

Beaumont Police Officer Randy Stevens said several people suffered minor injuries. He said no one so far appeared to have been seriously injured.

2:50 p.m. Employees at the Kentucky Fried Chicken on Dowlen Road said they saw debris swirling above the Lowe's sign.

District Manager Roy Torres ordered about 15 employees and two customers into the restrooms to protect them from the possibility of shattered glass.

The employees feared the tornado was headed their way, but it ended up going across the street to the Wal-Mart. An overturned car was visible in the Wal-Mart parking lot along with tin roofing from buildings in the area.

2:45 p.m. Angelia Simmons, 31, of Orange and her three children, arrived in Kohl's as heavy, heavy rain fell. She decided they'd wait out the rain in the car.

The tornado then hit.

Simmons watched as the small trees in the parking lot temporarily went almost horizontal.

The bricks on the left hand wall in front of the store began to peel away, Simmons said. The bricks danced away in a circular motion, she said.

In Wal-Mart's parking lot, trucks and cars were upside down, a pickup's cargo bay resting on the trunk of a white car. Many car windows were blown out. Shopping carts were everywhere. The rail corrals where customers return their carts were bent and twisted.

2:40 p.m.: Barnes and Noble lost the corner of its faÃ§ade and police are closing down Parkdale Crossing shopping center, including Office Depot and Petco, due to damage.

2:12 The Enterprise is responding to reports that a tornado hit an area on Dowlen, including Kohl's, Lowe's and Wal-Mart in Beaumont.

Customers are being held inside the Lowe's.

Police scanners are reporting debris on Dowlen and a car turned over.

Kohl's roof has collapsed and debris is littered throughout the parking lot. Interior insulation is visible as well as metal electrical wire. Customers, some injured, are lining the curb near the department store entrance. One women, with visible cuts on her face, was taken from the store on a stretcher.

The exterior of the Barnes & Noble store also has been damaged. A corner of the faÃ§ade is missing. Witnesses said they saw the funnel cloud come across the parking lot. Many cars in the parking lot are damaged.